In 1985 the Chicago punk scene was fairly disjointed, having split into factions with only Naked Raygun uniting the scene. The Effigies had devolved into sub-pop (not Sub Pop), and among the early scene players only Raygun was moving forward with any momentum (or even still really a band).
Some members kept the torch alive, though, and joined up to form the largely underrated Bloodsport. As the two main bits online about this band both mention, the band was really more famous for who the musicians played in prior to, and then after, Bloodsport (Effigies, Pegboy, Trial by Fire, Strike Under...). The history - while important - is not really relevant to the fact that their one and only record, the 7-song I Am The Game released on Homestead in 1985, is spectacular. It's as forward-looking as any Chicago punk record ever was, and it's a shame the band didn't carry on because it's blatantly obvious that there would have been even greater things to come based on these 7 tracks alone. The last track even features acoustic guitar!
So enjoy this FLAC set, from a (surprisingly) not-poor transfer from original Homestead vinyl.
BLOODSPORT
I Am The Game
Recorded by Iain Burgess at CRC, Chicago
1985 Homestead Records
01 Better and Best
02 Hangman's Dance
03 Rhymes of Reason
04 Ghosts of Scrooge
05 Sixes and Sevens
06 Mettle of Man
07 Killing Floor
Grab it here.
Enjoy!
Fuckeroni - FLAC this time. Ace! And the album is a killer - too bad they didn't record any more. I hope it sees a re-issue someday. Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteThis, Throb Throb and the first Breaking Circus were my introductions to the 'Chicago sound', whatever that means. Thanks
ReplyDeleteOh and thanks for the great rip - musta come from pristine vinyl. Did your copy came with a lyric sheet?
ReplyDeleteDD
Not my rip but that of a kind soul who heard my plea. I did a lot of cleanup but the rip itself was pretty clean too.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a million dollars, one of the things I'd do is buy up rights to the entire Homestead catalog (besides already-reissued things like Big Black and Dino Jr) and properly master and reissue it. And, pay the artists their proper royalties - both for original sales and reissued sales. Homestead on the business/ownership side (not Gerard) was infamous for not paying proper (any?) royalties and several bands have successfully sued the former Dutch East India Trading holding company for back-owed royalties.
ReplyDeleteYay! You cleaned it up, I gotta hear what you did =)
ReplyDelete